Day of Affection
by leandra1709
Summary: Raven begs Rita for help finding a good gift for Judith for Valentine's Day. A story focusing on Raven and Rita's friendship, with references to the people they are individually interested in. RavenxJudith RitaxEstelle


Rita sat at the desk in the hotel room Brave Vesperia was renting for a few days. She liked Capua Nor because it was fairly quiet and she was able to do most of her studying in peace. The other party members were out shopping or fighting, while Rita stayed in her own little world.

Until the door slammed open and a loud voice shouted, "Rita!"

Rita groaned and turned her head sharply, glaring at the intruder.

Raven stood in the doorway, face red, panting a bit.

Not pleased to be bothered, Rita snapped, "What?!"

"It's Valentine's day," Raven ran up to her and grabbed her hands.

"What-" Rita's eyes narrowed and she began to made a fist.

Raven turned around dramatically, "And I need something to wow Judith with!"

She punched him in the face anyway, "Are you freaking serious?! You burst in here and interrupt my work with this stupid crap?!"

"Ow," Raven rubbed his cheeck, "that's a bit harsh, ya know."

"Why do I care about helping you find her a gift or whatever? I don't care about stuff like that," Rita snatched the book she had been reading and sat back down, burying her face in it.

Limping over to her, Raven sat on the edge of the bed, "C'mon, ya really think Yuri's gonna help me? He doesn't care about romance. Karol's too young. And Estelle... I'd ask her, but you probably want to figure out something to get for her."

The book flew across the room and smacked him in the face, "Ow."

Blushing furiously, Rita jumped up and stomped up to him, "What is wrong with you?! I don't care about it! I don't care about helping you! I don't care about..."

Raven smirked as Rita's voice trailed off, "Ya don't care about Estelle?"

"Shut up!" She slapped him across the face.

"Yer really abusive, ya know that, Rita?" His face was getting sore at this point. Not that Rita cared, she just wanted him to go.

The book was snatched up again and the angry girl stormed back to her desk, sitting down once again and burying her face in it, "Whatever. Leave me alone."

Raven leaned back on the bed, "C'monnn, I thought we were friends." He was met with silence. "I don't know the female mind as well as you do." A nasty look was shot at him, but she still remained silent. A few minutes passed with no response from Rita, and Raven figured it was time to give up. He hopped off the bed and walked to the doorway, lingering at it, "You sure you don't wanna help me? You could find something for Estelle?"

All he got back was an obscene gesture. Shocked, Raven backed out of the room, "Okay then." He closed the door behind him and made his way to the town streets. There were a lot of shops around, but he wasn't sure what Judith would like on a romantic holiday. She didn't seem like the type for flowers and candy. She seemed to like fighting a lot...

"Ah ha!" Raven snapped his fingers. He'd go and look at the weapon shops and find the perfect spear for her. Judith always seemed disappointed when they went to upgrade their equipment, since the weapons she wanted were always too expensive. Unknown to the rest of the party, Raven had a secret wallet full of savings, waiting for the right time to use it.

He pulled out the wallet and looked at the contents. There was never a special reason to spend it.

"You're really going to spend that?" A voice piped up behind him.

"Gah!" Raven jumped and turned around to face Rita. She had a stern expression on her face and had her arms crossed.

"She must mean a lot to you, old man," Rita rolled her eyes.

A small smile appeared without him noticing, "Ahaha... I guess she does."

Rita watched him, studying his face. She never thought he could be serious about anyone or anything.

Raven stiffened up after seeing Rita's cold stare, "What?"

Her face softened, "Nah. Forget it. What are you going to get her?"

They spent the good part of an hour talking about what to get Judith, finally deciding on the best gift: a mithril spear adorned with rubies as decoration. Raven said the rubies reminded him of Judith's gorgeous eyes, and Rita wasn't sure that mithril was a real material.

"So, genius mage, now that we've figured out what ta get Judy, what're you gonna get Estelle?"

Rita's face turned red and she yelled, "Why do you keep asking me about Estelle?!"

Raven stayed silent, staring at her with a smirk on his face.

"I helped you and you-!"

"Are tryin' ta help you now."

"I..." Rita pulled on her glove. Her love life was something no one ever discussed. She did have feelings for Estellise, but she never really let anyone know. Was Raven just messing with her? She snuck a glance at his face and saw his genuine expression. "It's... not important," Rita scratched her cheek and looked away.

"If ya say so," Raven shrugged and admired the new spear, "I really hope Judy likes this."

"Meh, she will," Rita acted like she didn't care. She waved him off, "Go give it to her and be all lovey dovey."

Raven grinned, "I hope that will happen!" He surprised Rita with a hug, "Thanks for the help, little miss mage."

Rita froze up before patting him on the back, "Yep." Raven ran off in a random direction that Rita hoped was the right way to Judith. She sighed and put her hands on her hips. She was too busy with her research to worry about love anywa-

"Rita!" Estelle hugged her from behind, scaring Rita terribly.

"Gah! What're you doing?!"

Estelle let go and smiled, "I heard you didn't have someone to spend today with, so would it be okay if I spent it with you?"

"W-what." Rita mumbled as her face turned red again.

"Um... Raven told me..."

Rita waved her hands in front of her face, "Yeah yeah okay, whatever, I know, Valentine's Day..."

Estelle held her hand up to her mouth and giggled. Rita felt warm in her chest. She forced her hand out and stammered, "O-okay then, let's go somewhere." She was shocked when Estelle grabbed her hand and they started walking together.

That dumbass Raven, messing with her and interfering with her relationships... She'd have to thank him. Rita smiled genuinely.


End file.
